Mesmerizing photographs of China's crushing overpopulation

Students take an examination on an open-air playground at a high school in Yichuan, Shaanxi Province on April 11, 2015. More than 1,700 freshmen took part. China Stringer Network/Reuters

China has the largest population in the world, with a shocking number of 1.3 billion people and growing by the minute. The overpopulation was such a problem that in 1980 it made the one-child policy, which allowed each family in China only one child. This year the policy ended, and in just three months the population has gone up 0.46% since 2015.

The population is projected to increase by 6.8 million by the end of 2016. Overpopulation in a country is the result of the number of people in an area being much higher than the country's available resources. Below, see mesmerizing images of China's overpopulated country:

1/

Overpopulation in China began after World War II in 1949, when Chinese families were encouraged to have as many children as possible in hopes of bringing more money to the country, building a better army, and producing more food.

For every square kilometer in China, there are 139.6 people.

And there are 363.3 people per square mile.

China has used its overpopulation as an advantage to break world records. Here, people take part in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people practicing Taiji in multiple locations.

Sheng Li/Reuters

6/

Many schools combine lessons because of the size of classes. Pictured below, combined classes attend an outdoor joint lesson in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

Alex Lee/Reuters

7/

Martial arts is popular in China. Here, students from the Tagou martial-arts school in Henan Province practice at a training base on the outskirts of Beijing.

Donald Chan/Reuters

8/

By 2028, China is expected to have 1.45 billion residents, but then is expected to decline in 2030.

China Daily China Daily Information Corp/Reuters

9/

The true population of China might be misrepresented because of families lying on census polls about the one-child policy.

China is the only country where more males are born than females. The ratio is 1.15 males per female.

China currently has 2.3 million active frontline personnel in its military.

It holds the Guinness World Record for the largest human image of an organ.
Pictured below, over 1,500 people join the image, which was organized by a local health-research center hoping to improve awareness of lung health.

China Stringer Network/Reuters

13/

Recovering drug addicts eat dinner at the Kunming Drug Rehabilitation Center, the largest in the world with nearly 4,000 addicts.

Andrew Wong/Reuters

14/

Five hundred twenty students from Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School took part in the performance "Building the Dream," which was performed during the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games in August 2014.

China Stringer Network/Reuters

15/

Martial arts is performed at many places around China. Here, students of the Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School perform in the opening ceremony of the Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival.